Advanced Control of Tandem Metal Sheet Rolling Processes
 
Collaborators

 

Dr. Marwan A. Simaan - ECE (Pitt-UCF)

Dr. John Pittner - ECE (Pitt)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Typical Seven Stand Hot Rolling Mill Schematic

 

 

 

Looper Schematic

                                                    

Description: SMS Demag AG - Hot rolling mills

 

Rolling Mill Stand

 

 

 

Looper at Raised Position

Application of SDRE to the Tandem Hot Strip Mill

 

 

 

 

IMG_1104

 

J. Pittner and M. A. Simaan, Tandem Cold

Metal  Rolling Mill Control Using Practical Advanced Methods Springer-Verlag, London 2011

 

 

 

 

Project Summary

 

The rolling of hot metal strip in a tandem finishing mill is an important industrial manufacturing process that has considerable implications related to the health of the US economy. However, at present the US competitive position in the world market of rolled metal products remains seriously degraded. Much of this can be attributed to conventional metal manufacturing processes whose control has remained unchanged over the past decades, plus the lack of domestic research which would lead to modernization to improve the control of these processes, both conventional and those which are more up-to-date. The objective of this project is to perform the basic research needed to bring modern control technology to the entire tandem hot metal rolling industry. It is our belief that improvement in the quality of the final product of the tandem hot metal rolling process requires a major improvement in the method of process control. The results of this research are expected to result in major cost savings in production, which ultimately means an improvement in the competitive position of the US metals industry in the world market. Moreover, this project can be a first step toward the recovery of domestic research in this area if the US is to successfully compete with other countries such as China where similar research is advancing rapidly.

 

Our approach to achieving our research objective involves collaboration between the University of Central Florida and the University of Pittsburgh. We will expand on our successful previous work related to cold rolling to explore a new control mechanism which exhibits the viable and practical characteristics of the cold controller. While the cold controller was based on a single operating point, the new controller will expand to handle a wide range of operating conditions, products, and uncertainties that are typically encountered in the actual manufacturing of tandem hot rolled products. In the discovery of the new controller, we will expand the mathematical model that was developed previously to simulate real physical processes and evaluate controller performance. The significant advancement of the knowledge base related to the control of tandem hot metal rolling is the main intellectual merit of this activity.  Additionally, the project will be a major initial step in research leading to the modernization of this vital manufacturing industry. The results stemming from work will contribute to the improvement of the basic understanding of fundamental issues related to the control of this important manufacturing process, and be a first step toward the highly needed revitalization of domestic research leading to improvement in our competitive position in the world-wide market.    

 

 

 

Related Recent Publications

 

J. Pittner and M. A. Simaan, “Improving the Availability of Tandem Hot Metal String Rolling" IEEE Industry Applications Magazine, July/August 2019, pp. 66-76 (view)

 

J. Pittner and M. A. Simaan, “Improved Advanced Control for Fault-Tolerant Operation of a Tandem Cold Rolling Mill," Iron and Steel Technology Magazine, June 2019, pp.1-11 (view)

 

J. Pittner and M. A. Simaan, "Improving the Availability of Tandem Cold Metal Rolling by the Use of Fault-Tolerant Techniques with Virtual Rolling," Proc. of the 2018 IEEE Industry Application Society Annual Meeting, Portland, OR, September 23-27, 2018, in Conference CD (DOI: 10.1109/IAS.2018.8544622)

 

J. Pittner and M. A. Simaan, "Improved Advanced Control for Operation of a Tandem Cold Rolling Mill,” Proc. of the 2018 Iron and Steel Technology Conference and Exposition, Philadelphia, PA, May 8-11, 2018, in Conference CD

 

J. Pittner and M. A. Simaan, “Streamlining the Tandem Hot-Metal-Strip Mill," IEEE Industry Applications Magazine, Vol. 24, No. 2, March/April 2018, pp. 35-44 (DOI: 10.1109/MIAS.2017.2740473)

 

J. Pittner and M. A. Simaan, "Savings of Costs and Energy in Tandem Hot Metal Sheet Rolling Using a New Control Method” Proc. of the 2017 Iron and Steel Technology Conference and Exposition, Nashville, TN, May 8-11, 2017, in Conference CD

 

J. Pittner and M. A. Simaan, "Advanced Control for Fault-Tolerant Operation of a Tandem Hot Metal Strip Mill” Proc. of the 2017 Iron and Steel Technology Conference and Exposition, Nashville, TN, May 8-11, 2017, in Conference CD

 

J. Pittner and M. A. Simaan, "the use of Advanced Control with Virtual Rolling to Improve the Control of the Threading of the Tandem Hot Metal Strip Mill," Proceedings of the IEEE Industry Applications Society Annual Meeting, Portland, OR October 2-6, 2016, in conference USB, pp. 1-8, (DOI: 10.1109/IAS.2016.7731910)

 

J. Pittner and M. A. Simaan, "Advanced Control Using Virtual Processing for Threading a Hot Metal Strip Mill,” Proc. of the 2016 American Control Conference, Boston, MA, July 6-9, 2016, pp. 3268-3273

 

J. Pittner and M. A. Simaan, "New Control Method for Improving the Threading Phase of the Tandem Rolling of Hot Metal Sheet,” Proc. of the 2016 Iron and Steel Technology Conference and Exposition, Pittsburgh, PA, May 16-19, 2016, Vol. III, pp. 3069-3082

 

J. Pittner and M. A. Simaan, "Advanced Control to Reduce the Likelihood of Cobbles in the Tandem Rolling of Hot Metal Strip,” IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, Vol. 51, No. 5, September/October 2015, pp. 4305-4312

 

J. Pittner and M. A. Simaan, Reducing Costs and Saving Energy in the Tandem Rolling of Hot Metal Strip by the Use of an Advanced Control Method," Proc. of the 2015 IEEE Industry Applications Society Annual Meeting, Dallas, TX, Oct 18-22, 2015 (in Conference CD)

 

J. Pittner and M. A. Simaan, “Mill Control System and Method for Control of Metal Strip Rolling” US Patent #9,095,886 B2, issued August 4, 2015.

 

J. Pittner and M. A. Simaan, "New Control Technique for Reducing the Likelihood of Cobbles in the Tandem Rolling of Hot Metal Sheet,” Proc. of the 2015 Iron and Steel Technology Conference and Exposition, Cleveland, OH, April 29-May 4, 2015, pp. 2647-2660

 

J. Pittner and M. A. Simaan, "Control of the Tandem Hot Strip Mill Under Expanded Uncertainties and Disturbances,” IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, Vol. 50, No. 5, Sept/Oct 2014, pp. 3086-3094

 

J. Pittner and M. A. Simaan, "Advanced Control to Reduce the Likelihood of Cobbles in the Tandem Rolling of Hot Metal Strip,” Proc. of the 2014 IEEE Industry Applications Society Meeting, Vancouver, BC, Canada October 5-9, 2014 (in Conference CD).

 

J. Pittner and M. A. Simaan, "Improvement in Control of the Tandem Hot Strip Mill,” IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, Vol. 49, No. 5, Sept/Oct 2013, pp. 1962-1970

 

J. Pittner and M. A. Simaan, "Control of the Tandem Hot Strip Mill Under Expanded Uncertainties and Disturbances,” Proc. of the IEEE Industry Applications Society Meeting, Orlando, FL, October 6-11, 2013 (in Conference CD).

 

J. Pittner and M. A. Simaan, "An Advanced Control Method for Saving Energy in the Tandem Rolling of Hot Metal Strip,” Proc. of the IEEE EnergyTech 2013 Conference, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, May 21-23, 2013

 

J. Pittner and M. A. Simaan, "Novel Advanced Control for Tandem Hot Metal Sheet Rolling,”Proc. of the 2013 Iron and Steel Technology Conference and Exposition, Pittsburgh, PA, May 6-9, 2013, pp. 2451-2463

 

J. Pittner and M. A. Simaan, "Improvement in the Tandem Rolling of Hot Metal Sheet Using a New Advanced Control Technique,” Iron and Steel Technology, December 2013, pp. 67-81

 

J. Pittner and M. A. Simaan, "Control of Tandem Hot Metal Strip Rolling Processes Using an Improvement to the State Dependent Riccati Equation Technique,” Proc. of the 2012 IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, Maui, Hawaii, December 10-13, 2012, pp. 6358-6363

 

J. Pittner and M. Simaan, "Improvement in Control of the Tandem Hot Strip Mill,” Proc. of the 2012 IEEE Industry Applications Society Annual Meeting, Las Vegas, NV, October 7-11, 2012 (in Conference CD) - Received IAS Metals Outstanding Paper Award.

 

J. Pittner  and M. A. Simaan, "Advanced Techniques for Control of the Threading of a Tandem Hot Metal Strip Rolling Mill," IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, Vol. 48, No. 5, Sept/Oct 2012, pp. 1683-1691

 

J. Pittner and M. Simaan, Tandem Cold Metal Rolling Mill Control, Springer Advances in Industrial Control Series, Springer, 2011 (205 pages)

 

J. Pittner  and M. A. Simaan, "Modern Controller for Improving Quality During Threading of the Tandem Hot Strip Rolling Mill,” Proc. of the 2011 IEEE Industry Applications Society Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL, October 9-13, 2011 (in Conference CD)

 

J. Pittner and M. A. Simaan, "Controller for Reducing Excursions in Tensions, Thicknesses, and Looper Positions during Threading of a Tandem Hot Metal Strip Rolling Process,” Proc. of the 2011 American Control Conference, San Francisco, CA, June 29-July 1, 2011, pp. 5055-5061

 

M. A. Simaan and J. Pittner, "A New Approach for Control of the Tandem Hot Metal Strip Rolling Process,” Proc. of the 2011 NSF Engineering Research and Innovation Conference, Atlanta, GA, January 4-7, 2011 (in Conference CD)

 

J. Pittner and M. A. Simaan, “Quality Improvement of Tandem Hot Metal Strip Rolling Using an Augmented State-Dependent Riccati Equation Technique,” Proc. of the 49th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, Atlanta, GA, December 15-17, 2010, pp. 5180-5185

 

J. Pittner and M. A. Simaan, "A Useful Control Model for Tandem Hot Metal Strip Rolling," IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, Vol. 46, No. 6, Nov/Dec 2010, pp. 2251-2258

 

J. Pittner and M. A. Simaan, "A Control Method for Improvement in the Tandem Hot Metal Strip Rolling Process," Proc. of the 2010 IEEE Industry Applications Society Annual Meeting, Houston, TX, October 3-7, 2010 (in Conference CD) - Received IAS Metals Outstanding Paper Award.

 

J. Pittner and M. A. Simaan, "Controller for Improving the Quality of the Tandem Rolling of Hot Metal Strip," Proc. of the 2010 American Control Conference, Baltimore, MA, June 30-July 2, 2010, pp. 6095-6100

 

J. Pittner, N. S. Samaras, and M. A. Simaan, "A New Strategy for Optimal Control of Continuous Tandem Cold Metal Rolling," IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications,  Vol. 46, No. 2, Mar/Apr 2010, pp. 703-711

 

J. Pittner and M. A. Simaan, "An Initial Model for Control of a Tandem Hot Metal Strip Rolling Process," IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, Vol. 46, No. 1, Jan/Feb 2010, pp. 46-53

 

J. Pittner and M. A. Simaan, "Progress in Development of a Control Model for a Tandem Hot Metal Strip Rolling Process," Proc. of the 2009 IEEE Industry Applications Society Annual Meeting, Houston, TX, October 4-8, 2009 (in Conference CD).

 

J. Pittner and M. A. Simaan, “Control of a Continuous Tandem Cold Rolling Process” Control of Engineering Practice, Vol. 16, No. 11, November 2008, pp. 1379-1390.

 

J. Pittner, and M. A. Simaan, “Model for Control of a Tandem Hot Metal Strip Rolling” Proc. of the 2008 IEEE Industry Applications Society Annual Meeting, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, October 5-9, 2008 (in Conference CD) - Received IAS Metals Outstanding Paper Award.

 

J. Pittner and M. A. Simaan, “ Optimum Feedback Controller Design for Tandem Cold Metal Rolling” Proc. of the 17th World Congress of the International Federation of Automatic Control, Seoul, Korea, July 11-13, 2008, pp. 988 – 993.

 

J. Pittner and M. A. Simaan, “Optimal Control of Continuous Tandem Cold Metal Rolling” Proc. of the 2008 American Control Conference, Seattle, WA, June 11-13, 2008, pp. 2834-2839

 

J. Pittner, and M. A. Simaan, “Optimal Control of Tandem Cold Rolling Using a Pointwise Linear Quadratic Technique with Trims” ASME Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurements and Control, Vol. 130, No. 2, March 2008, pp.021006-1- 021006-11.

 

J. Pittner, N. Samaras, and M. A. Simaan, “A Novel Approach for Optimal Control of Continuous Tandem Cold Metal Rolling” Proc. of the 2007 IEEE Industry Applications Society Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA, September 23-27, 2007  (in Conference CD)

 

J. Pittner and M. A. Simaan, “An Optimal Control Method for Improvement in Tandem Cold Metal Rolling” Proc. of the 2007 IEEE Industry Applications Society Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA, September 23-27, 2007 (in Conference CD)

 

J. Pittner, and M. A. Simaan, “A New Strategy For Control of Tandem Cold Metal Rolling” Proc. of the 2007 American Control Conference, New York, NY, July 11-13, 2007, pp. 4130-4135.

 

J. Pittner, and M. A. Simaan, “State-Dependent Riccat Equation Approach for Optimal Control of a Tandem Cold Metal Rolling Process” IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, Vol. 42, No. 3, 2006, pp. 836-843.

 

J. Pittner, and M. A. Simaan, “Pointwise Linear Quadratic Optimal Control of a Tandem Cold Rolling Mill” Proc. of the 2004 IEEE Industry Applications Society Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA, October 3-7, 2004, pp. 903-910.

 

N. S. Samaras and M. A. Simaan, "Optimized Trajectory Tracking Control of Dynamic Multistage Metal Cooling Processes with Nonlinear Disturbances,” IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, Vol. 40, No. 4, July/August 2004, pp. 926-931.

 

N. S. Samaras and M. A. Simaan, “Optimized Trajectory Tracking Control of Dynamic Multistage Metal-Cooling Processes with Nonlinear Disturbances,” Proc. of the 2002 IEEE Industry Applications Society Annual Meeting, Pittsburgh, PA, October 13-18, 2002, Vol. 1, pp. 150-156.

 

N. S. Samaras and M. A. Simaan, "Novel Control Structure for Run-out Table Coiling Temperature Control,” AISE Steel Technology, Vol. 78, No. 6, June 2001, pp. 55-59.

 

N. S. Samaras and M. A. Simaan, "Optimized Trajectory Tracking Control of Multistage Dynamic Metal Cooling Processes,” IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, Vol. 37, No. 3, May/June 2001, pp. 920-927.

 

N. S. Samaras and M. A. Simaan, "Optimized Trajectory Tracking Control of Multistage Dynamic Processes,” Proc. of the 2000 IEEE Industry Applications Society Annual Meeting and World Conference on Industrial Applications of Electrical Energy, Rome, Italy, October 8-12, 2000, Vol. 4, pp. 2654-2661.

 

N. S. Samaras and M. A. Simaan, "Optimized Trajectory Tracking Control of Multistage Dynamic Processes,” Proc. of the 2000 IEEE Industry Applications Society Annual Meeting and World Conference on Industrial Applications of Electrical Energy, Rome, Italy, October 8-12, 2000, Vol. 4, pp. 2654-2661.

 

N. S.  Samaras and M. A. Simaan, "A Novel Control Structure for Coiling Temperature Control of Run-Out Table,” Proc. of the 2000 American Iron and Steel Institute Convention, Chicago, IL, September 10-13, 2000.

 

N. S. Samaras and M. A. Simaan, "Water Cooled End-Point Boundary Temperature Control of Hot Strip Via Dynamic Programming," Proc. of the 1997 IEEE Industry Applications Society Conference, New Orleans, LA, October 5-9, 1997, pp. 2109-2117.